Vase of Flowers

Teuane Tibbo made a speciality of still lifes. She noted that her favourite flowers were ‘pink poppies, frangipani, hibiscus, gladioli, roses and lilies’ – some of which are present in this exuberant work. Tibbo’s artwork is devoted to recreating memories of the ‘old Samoa’ of her childhood.

Her intense colour and pattern express Pacific life with a convincing simplicity, marking Tibbo as the first important Samoan painter to work in New Zealand. Her Pasifika imagination was both convincing and sincere. Of her painting she commented, ‘All the time I remember Samoa and I just paint and paint. All the pictures come out of my head of the things I used to do when I was young.’

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